Jump on board the growing Farm to School program

An all-day workshop put on by the Growing Minds Farm to School program will help schools connect with local farmers and teach children the importance of healthy, locally grown food Nov. 10 at University of North Carolina Asheville’s Sherrill Center.

The Farm to School program, an initiative of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, helps food grown by local farmers find its way to school cafeterias, as well as connect children with healthy food choices from their own community. Students at Growing Mind Schools go on farm field trips, get nutrition education, grow school gardens and eat local food in cafeterias.

In addition to a key note speaker, three workshop sessions geared specifically to teachers, early childhood educators, child nutrition staff, chefs and parents will be held throughout the day.

“We can’t wait to share a decade’s worth of creative ideas and practical applications for school environments with both long-time Farm to School supporters and those newly interested in the flourishing movement,” said Growing Minds program director Emily Jackson.

The initiative is sponsored by Biltmore, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation and the NC Center for Health & Wellness.

Reading Room

So, Scout (Jean Louise) comes back home to Maycomb — where “everyone is either kin or almost kin”— at age 26 and after being “away” and living in New York City for several years. Sixteen years have gone by since we last heard from her in the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Maycomb she comes home to isn’t the same Maycomb we know from the 1960 novel.

This Must Be the Place

For the better part of the last decade, my life during the summer was music festivals. From Maine to California, Michigan to Arkansas, I was there, in an endless crowd, cheering on the greatest musicians of our time. In those innumerable moments, I felt more alive, at home, and at peace, than anywhere else in the world.